Read Second Class Supers – Page 57

A feeling of heat spread across Kya’s cheeks. She forced herself to stand as straight as possible. In her mind, she dug deep and mustered up as much confidence as she could. She wanted her next words to be powerful, despite a small voice inside her reminding her that nothing good could come of what she was about to do. “You have no right to go bad mouthing me behind my back!”
“You!” Don Georgetown yelled, his deep voice causing Kya to flinch involuntarily. He took a breath and continued quietly. “You came in here dressed-” He waved his hand at her as though he was pausing to try and find the right words. “Like a child. Streaks in your hair which you knew were against the dress code. Did you think that we couldn’t see them? Jeans or sweatpants, showing up late, improper documentation. Everything you did was to spit in the face of the corporate image. You rebelled every chance you got. You were a liability. I am looking out for the welfare of any company considering you as an employee.” Don’s face went red as he completed his rant, seeming both winded and satisfied, he stopped.
“I don’t need to take this.” Kya said coldly. “You never gave me any respect, why should I-”

His voice changed and became eerily calm. “You never earned any respect.” He traced his finger along the surface of his mahogany desk, looking at his hand as he did so. “You know Leonard started the same time as you. He was always early for shifts, always dressed to impress. He followed the job description to a tee. He went above and beyond what was asked of him.”
A sarcastic laugh escaped Kya’s lips. “He went above and beyond alright!”
Don lifted his head and raised an eyebrow at Kya. He shifted in his chair, leaning forward. His upper body seemed to rest heavily on his extended gut.
“I know he only got a promotion because of Elliot.”
Don flinched at the name in an almost imperceptible way. It was mostly his eyes that changed, displaying unhappiness. It was only for a moment and then his hardened, confident exterior returned. “What?” He asked in an aloof tone.
“I know what happened to Elliot. Leonard only got his promotion because he helped you get rid of the evidence.”
“Elliot?” Don said in mock confusion. “Elliot who?”
“Elliot Shepherd.” Kya said, frustrated.
“Who?” A smile crept across his face and then he began to laugh. He turned his attention to his computer and after a moment turned the screen towards Kya. “Go ahead. Hack away! You’ll find no record of an employee named Elliot Shepherd. No security videos, nothing.”
“Because Leonard helped you cover it up!” Kya’s anger was almost at it’s breaking point. She wanted to strike out, to make him admit what he had done. His smug confidence grated on Kya’s nerves.
“How do you think I got this office? My people skills?” His grin made Kya’s skin crawl. “I know a lot about computers. I didn’t need Leonard’s help. The Director of I.T. saw his work and his work ethic and promoted him. I won’t say the positive reference I gave him didn’t help though.”
“You admit you removed Elliot from the database? I know what I saw, you killed him. You covered it up.”
“There’s no point trying to convince you otherwise. You know what you saw, and I know how seriously the authorities will take the word of a desperate and unemployed Normal with no evidence and a good motive to want to ruin her ex-boss.” He smiled again.
“They’ll listen.”
“Elliot was an old man, set in his ways, nothing to show for it. No one cares about him.”
“I care.”
“You’re no one.”

A sudden ringing in her ears became so loud that she couldn’t hear anything else. Kya could feel her throat rumbling as she breathed in and out. She knew it was likely an audible growl. Don waved his finger at her and without fully being aware of what she was doing she moved swiftly over his desk, inches away from his face. There was no act of will or thought, her arm pulled back and swung forward hitting Don Georgetown square in the jaw.
Kya could hear the dull thud of her fist hitting his face, and felt a small twinge of pain shoot from her hand, up her arm.
Don’s expression was one of victory and Kya could tell her assault had done nothing. He stood up from his chair and towered over Kya, who was still kneeling on his desk. He pulled back his fist and with a gleam of excitement in his eyes, he paused. “Don’t forget who started this.”
Kya knew what was coming next. She clenched her whole body in anticipation. She watched as black tendrils crossed her vision, and as much as she wanted to take comfort in her invisibility, she knew that it wouldn’t save her.
“Oh, well look at that!” Don said. His tone was snide, but Kya could hear the undertones of surprise in his comment.
She shuffled backwards quickly, hoping to get away from him without completely giving away her location. Unfortunately, the next thing she felt was agony rippling from her cheek and the back of her head as she hit the floor. Her vision instantly cleared and she saw that the chair she had been sitting on was flipped over on her leg.
“Thought you could hide from me? Being invisible doesn’t stop you from being hit, or bleeding.” Don pointed at Kya’s face.
Kya touched her cheek, and it felt raw. Inside her mouth, she could taste blood, and it felt as though a few of her teeth had been knocked loose. With her head swimming, she pushed the chair off of her leg and put her hand to her cheek again and concentrated. A pulse of cold washed over her face, and the pain she felt subsided. As she swallowed another mouth full of blood, she could tell inside her mouth was no longer bleeding.
“Some kind of healing, too? How much can you heal? If I crush your chest, can you fix that too? What happens if you pass out?” Don’s tone was giddy as his words became a life or death challenge.
Kya wanted to live. A quick inspection of her surroundings gave her the ammunition she needed to try to turn the tables. Dozens of pens, manuals, and even Don’s computer started floating in the air and repeatedly assaulting him. A few of the pens tried to dig their way into his skin, but it wouldn’t give, no matter how hard Kya pushed with her mind.
A huge belly laugh came from Don as Kya continued her assault. “You’re just as useless with Supers as you were without.”
Kya tried to focus once again, and made herself invisible. She tried to continue to push things towards where she thought Don was as she opened the door, and slipped out of the office. She could hear Don’s angry shout as she shut the door, popped back into existence and ran like her life depended on it towards the exit.
Before leaving the information technology area, she turned and looked back at the office filled with people standing and staring at Don Georgetown’s office. Using her back to push through the door, Kya exited Starlife Technologies.

Read Second Class Supers – Page 59